


You're the Doll People

by lakeghost



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dialogue Heavy, Established Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades, Fix-It, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence, Multi, Post-Season/Series 03, Psychological Trauma, Rescue, Short One Shot, Wine, the dolls that launched a thousand fics, to some extent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:34:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24708409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lakeghost/pseuds/lakeghost
Summary: The tables turned, then turned again.A timeline adjusted AU where the events at Lindenfeld happened just a bit earlier, landing Trevor and Sypha at the castle on a particular night.
Relationships: Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont, Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades
Comments: 6
Kudos: 249





	You're the Doll People

“What the hell is going on in there?”

“He’s a grown man Sypha, I think he’s allowed to jerk off in the privacy of his own home. We can announce our triumphant return later”

Sypha narrowed her eyes, but before she could respond, the incriminating noises behind the door cut off with a strange yelp. Trevor turned his head and heard voices - several.

Sypha sighed and waved a hand dismissively. “Well, that makes sense. Maybe you’re right.”

They couldn’t make out words, but the voices began to change, twisting from low murmurs to something much harsher. A familiar voice stood out, pleading.

They barely shared a glance before they both stepped back, Sypha to pull fire into her arms and Trevor to kick in the door.

Before the door could thud into the stone, Trevor sent his whip hissing through the air to snap a warning over the heads of the two figures kneeling at the foot of the bed. There was a metallic clatter as they rushed forward and the strangers dropped whatever they’d been holding, and Adrian’s sword, poised midair, fell to the ground. The naked forms slid back off the bed, revealing Adrian himself, bound in silver to the frame.

The moonlight coming in from the high window cast the whole scene in a surreal light. The three had clearly reached the height of their passion when the dagger, Trevor now saw, had been introduced. Sweat and tears glistened over skin and blades. It was hideous.

Sypha stormed toward the intruders, palms raised and alight. The two stepped back, the whites of their eyes stark in the meager light. It was clear Sypha intended to strike first, and save questions for the funeral.

“Wait,” Adrian croaked. Sypha paused, enough time for Trevor to reach the bed and free their companion. He felt goosebumps raise along his skin as he recognized the bindings. It had come from the Hold.

“Please.” Adrian’s voice was barely a whisper. Sypha stepped between the bed and the strangers and lowered her hands. One of the pair, the man, took a hesitant step forward, and Sypha sent a pike of ice shooting up from the floor, inches from his foot. The message was clear.

Trevor managed to untie the dhampir, finding himself too irate to speak. He felt hot tears prick at his eyes when Adrian flung himself at Trevor, gripping the man with more strength than was comfortable. He dug his hand into Adrian’s hair, knotting his fingers in it as he searched for the words on his tongue and the blade at his hip. Blood was going to be spilled over this.

An awed whisper broke the silence.

“You’re the doll people.” As the man spoke, the woman’s eyes widened in recognition.

Sypha tilted her head, then flicked her eyes to Trevor, who managed to shrug through the tension in his shoulders. He felt Adrian grasp tighter at his shirt.

“Give us a chance to explain.” The woman masked the quiver in her voice, but the shake in her hands gave her away.

“Why should we?” growled Trevor. Neither spoke, replying only with downcast eyes.

Adrian’s face was still buried against his chest, and Trevor could feel him shake his head. He looked to Sypha. “Let’s get him out of here first.”

Sypha kept her eyes locked on the strangers, white-hot with fury. “I’ll take him. I don’t trust myself with these two.” She stepped back and turned to the bed, confident the strangers weren’t stupid enough to try to run.

It took a few tries to pry Adrian’s hands from Trevor, but they managed. They wrapped him in Trevor’s cloak as Sypha guided him to standing, letting him lead her outside, deeper into the castle and farther from the room. Trevor waited until he couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore to address the strangers. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”

***

They’d been at an impasse for nearly half an hour. Trevor gave the strangers, Sumi and Taka, if they were to be believed, time to think while he inspected the dolls. He’d suggested the kitchen because it was by far the most human part of the castle, which he supposed made sense. It was easier to spend time here. Things were smaller, more stable. It was an easy place to feel in control. It was reasonable that he would have spent a lot of time here, while they were away.

Trevor turned the tiny stuffed Trevor over in his hand. He needed to say something callous before he started weeping.

“I can’t believe he’s gone soft on us. Who would have thought the prince of darkness would move straight from patricide to toymaking?”

“How can you say that?” said Sumi, incredulous. “Knowing what he can do, what he’s _willing_ to do, if he believes there’s cause.” The intensity of her voice was a wild and flailing thing.

Trevor scoffed and delicately set the doll on the table, alongside doll-Sypha. “Did he do the red wine thing?”

“What are you talking about?” asked Taka. His voice was harsh, but his eyes were shimmery with moisture.

“I assume you ate meals with him at some point, yes?” Taka nodded. “He pulled his act on Sypha and me the first couple nights we dined in the luxury of the castle. Very conspicuous. Only a psychopath or someone who _really_ wants to remind you that they’re a vampire drinks red wine with fish. Sypha didn’t think anything of it, but she’s a heathen.” He grinned at a memory, but the expression fell when his eyes refocused on the two before him. “What I’m saying is that it’s a persona. A performance. He’s basically still a kid.”

“But I thought -” Taka started. Trevor waved his hand for silence and went on.

“Yeah, yeah, he lived to the ripe old age of twenty in an isolated castle, then locked himself in a coffin for a year before he killed his dad. I’m not sure what kind of life experience that all adds up to, but I’m doubtful it’s any kind of sage wisdom.”

Both the visitors were silent for several moments. Sumi spoke first.

“He said he would teach us. But he hid things from us. How could we trust him?”

Trevor sighed and leaned back into his chair. “You can’t. I mean, you don’t have a reason to. Hell, I tried to kill him as soon as I met him. Granted, I didn’t fuck him immediately preceding my assassination attempt, but to each their own, I suppose.”

Sumi grimaced and Taka looked intently at the table.

“From what you’ve told me, your cynicism is well-founded. Respectable, even. But betrayal is a different beast. There’s a reason the devil chews on Judas in the ninth circle. Even heretics like myself serve a kinder sentence.”

Taka fidgeted with his hands. Sumi crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t expect us to believe he wouldn’t have done the same in our place. I saw his sword fall. Technically, you saved our lives.”

“We all make mistakes.” Trevor noticed Taka warily regarding the crest on his shirt. Trevor tapped the emblem. “Look familiar?”

“From the Hold.” Taka shook his head, still looking at the table. His eyes fell on the dolls. Quietly, he spoke again. “I really thought he’d made you up, both of you. Imaginary monster hunters to keep him company.”

Trevor raised his eyebrows.

Sumi added, “I thought he’d conjured you, at first.”

Trevor gritted his teeth. He hated them. He wanted to break their fingers one by one for ever laying a hand on Adrian. How cruel was god to make a world where circumstance forced their lives together? Experience showed these two that they could only trust each other, that the keepers of power and knowledge saw them as pawns, playthings. Trevor could sympathize with the drive to self-reliance and distrust, he knew how it soured a person’s soul.

At any other time, Alucard would have been prepared to help them, sharp enough to navigate their motives and keep his distance. But the loneliness ate at him too, though instead of honing him into a jagged edge, it wore him down to sand, to exhaustion. Of course he would attach himself to the first humans who crossed his path. He had a purpose, he had something to care for now. In his mind, love and lust lived separate from scheming and jealousy. He didn’t know they were all tools in the same kit. Trevor sighed. Maybe he was reading too much into this. Maybe he felt culpable and was projecting a bit. Already he could note some similarities between this pair and himself and Sypha. He felt a bit sick.

“Look. I believe what you’ve told me. I believe he was a willing and active participant until you _tied him to the fucking bed_.” Trevor bared his teeth, but took another deep breath. “But that betrayal, the trauma you put him through - he isn’t going to recover, not for a long time. You can’t inflict your own bitterness on others. It never works out, for either party involved.”

Trevor looked back across the table. They both looked fittingly chastised, but Trevor wanted more.

“I’m sorry that you were Cho’s prisoners for so long. I’m sorry the world is cruel and cold. I’m sorry that your mentor figure happened to be dealing with some of his own shit when you found him. Life is ugly and stupid.” He took a slow breath. “As much as I want both of you dead, I’m deferring to the victim here. After whatever the hell you two did to him, he still asked Sypha not to incinerate you. I’m sparing you for his sake.” Trevor crossed his arms. “If tomorrow he comes to his senses, you’ll be buried before lunch.”

Sumi and Taka looked at each other, running some silent calculation before turning fully toward Trevor.

“What are you going to do now?” Sumi asked, sounding cornered. Tears had begun to collect on Taka’s eyelashes. Trevor really _really_ didn’t want to be sober right now.

“I think I’ll generously offer you a night in one of this maze’s dungeons, and we’ll all five of us talk again in the morning. How does that sound?” He stood without waiting for even a perfunctory response and walked to the doorway. He gestured dramatically. “After you.” He bit his tongue to stop himself from continuing, “I wouldn’t want to be stabbed in the back”. He wasn’t going to be cruel.

He glanced at the dolls, still laying limp on the table, as Sumi and Taka rose to leave.

If he could be whatever Adrian thought of him, they might all just make it out alive.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m clearly not over the fact canon has gifted us a scene of sad Alucard drinking white wine with fish, bucking the vampire stereotype and following the general wine pairing rule of thumb, followed by a scene eating basically the same meal but with guests, now sipping on red - thank you for humoring me and reading this mess


End file.
